WWALS Watershed Coalition advocates for conservation and stewardship of the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little, and Suwannee River watersheds in south Georgia and north Florida through education, awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen activities.

Sierra Club has already published a call urging Gov. DeSantis to veto this “Roads to Ruin” toll expressway bill.
WWALS is a signatory, among the six Florida Waterkeepers signed on, with 90 total organizations.

Why is Florida even considering building more toll roads while
the Panhandle’s homes, businesses, and agriculture are still in ruins
after Hurricane Michael?

Tallahassee —Today 90 conservation organizations, civic groups, and businesses representing the Panhandle to the Keys sent a letter to Governor Ron DeSantis urging him to veto the Transportation Corridor bill, SB 7068, when it arrives on his desk.

The letter to the Governor follows similar letters
sent to the
Senate and House last week and will test the Governor’s
post-inaugural declarations of dedication to protecting the
Everglades, the springs, and the state’s water quality.

The 90 below-signed organizations ask that you veto legislation that
seeks to construct three toll roads through rural Florida. These
highways will not reduce traffic or provide safety during hurricane
events.

1000 Friends of Florida found in its Florida 2070 report that
Florida is on track to increase developed land to a full third of
the State in the next half century. Sprawl is not progress. These
toll roads will cost Florida hundreds of thousands of acres of farms
and rural lands and fragment landscape and wildlife habitat. The
intended “benefits” of these toll roads include water
and sewer infrastructure which, with on and off ramps, will
accelerate urban sprawl.

· “Southwest-Central Florida Connector” extending from Collier County to Polk County; a previous highway planned for the route was called the Heartland Parkway

· “Suncoast Connector” extending from Citrus County to Jefferson County

· “Northern Turnpike Connector” extending from the northern terminus of the Florida Turnpike northwest to the Suncoast Parkway

Building these roads will be very expensive. The funding would grow
from $45 million next fiscal year to $90 million in the 2020-2021
fiscal year, about $135 million the next year, and a recurring
amount of $140 million starting in the 2022-2023 fiscal year. And
that’s just for planning. Billions will be bonded to actually build
hundreds of miles of limited access highways. Florida will be paying
off the debt for more than a generation instead of funding
education, healthcare, or
needed infrastructure for wastewater,
drinking water, and the roads and bridges we already have.

These hugely expensive road projects and accompanying urban sprawl
will devastate habitat for the Florida Panther and dozens of other
endangered and threatened Florida species. They will destroy
important wetlands, forests, springs, and aquifer recharge areas
from Florida Bay to the Georgia border even though they would not
serve an identified transportation purpose. In fact, the
FDOT Interstate 75 Relief Task Force recommended in 2016 that rather than
new roads, a better approach was expanding the vehicle capacity of
the interstate and connecting highways.

Transit and planning relieve congestion, not building roads.
Relieving congestion in urban areas requires a focus on transit. The
American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2016 Report Card notes that
only 2% of Floridians’ commutes to work were made by public transit
and that Florida needs to develop and connect its transit networks
with an additional $1.3 billion investment.

Road building is not a sustainable economic development strategy for
rural communities. In fact, these roads will route traffic away from
communities established on existing roads, harming their economies.

New tollways through west-central Florida are not the answer to
hurricane preparedness.

Floridians need more safe spaces in their communities to shelter
during storms; only 42% of schools are designated hurricane
shelters, indicating many schools do not meet the structural
requirements. Providing safe shelters for evacuees is a more
practical and affordable response to extreme weather events than new
toll expressways.

We urge you to spend Florida tax payer dollars wisely and reject the
toll roads.

Dear Governor.
I was born in Florida. Fort Lauderdale to be exact. I saw my home town become a metropolis nightmare. This is why I came to Ocala. The community here wants to preserve our way of life here. This why I have been here 27 years. It’s extremely sad to see what continues to happen not only to our community our state and our planet for the love of money. As human’s we’re the only being on this planet that destroys and kills for our own benefit regardless of the consequences. It is sad that it is no longer We the People. It is we the government and and those whose Pockets want to be lined with money. I feel for every living creature on this planet. If we don’t continue to stand up for nature it’s animals and quality of life. I fear all will be lost. This toll road it’s going to destroy our peaceful way of life. Cause Watershed mass flooding displace millions of animals from there homes . Not to mention kill millions of trees that are anywhere from saplings to hundreds of years old. Trees our our main source of oxygen on the planet. Please please please Mr Governor stop this toll road. Thank you Michelle J. Moore.